Merckx index wrote:Whoa! Didn’t see this coming—P4P king Andre Ward is retiring:

“I want to be clear – I am leaving because my body can no longer put up with the rigors of the sport and therefore my desire to fight is no longer there,” the statement titled “Mission Accomplished” said. “If I cannot give my family, my team, and the fans everything that I have, then I should no longer be fighting.”

Boxers frequently “retire”, only to return after some time off (Mayweather and Pacquiao, e.g.), and it’s possible Ward will do that; he’s 33, probably close to his physical peak, and could look forward to at least several more years as an elite boxer. OTOH, this is a good time to go. He’s 32-0, with probably his most defining two fights his most recent ones, the wins over Kovalev. He certainly has nothing left to prove, and it appears the only challenges left for him would be to move up in weight. He did speculate about fighting heavyweight, but there are many in that division he couldn’t beat. Also, of course, the sooner a boxer retires, the better his future health prospects are.

Being a Detroiter, I remember Cuevas as being "The Hitman", Thommie Hearns' first big win, in a stunning second round knockout. Cuevas was a tough little fighter. That to was one of the golden ages of the welterweight division with many good fighters brawling it out during that era.

Being a Detroiter, I remember Cuevas as being "The Hitman", Thommie Hearns' first big win, in a stunning second round knockout. Cuevas was a tough little fighter. That to was one of the golden ages of the welterweight division with many good fighters brawling it out during that era.

Yes and that welterweight division turned into a great middleweight division as they got older.

Yesterday we saw a wonderful performance by Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux, he was the bigger, younger man, but in the end it wasn't his size, he was just too fast and his footwork was just better. I won't say that Rigondeaux quit, his injury was probably the deciding factor, but I he was loosing the fight, he was gassed, outclassed and probably getting stopped at some point.The fight could be seen as a changing of the guards, the (nowadays) declining Cuban amateur boxing system was beaten by the Ukrainian.For me the Ukrainian amateur system is probably near the same level as the japanese (in the lower weight classes) when it comes to producing guys who are ready to fight strong pros from the start, they don't develope point fighters who are only good at getting amateur medals, they just try to train great fighters.

I really don't understand why he's prolonging a career clearly well into decline. He has nothing left to prove in the ring, and has a full-time career as a Senator now. The biggest news, though, is that he and long-time trainer Freddie Roach may be done. Pacquiao said no decision has been made about who his trainer for this fight will be, but the fact that there's even a question about Roach is big news. It doesn't help that Roach claims he was never paid for Manny's last fight.

In other boxing news, Canelo Alvarez was suspended six months for clenbuterol. This is Clinic material, so all I'll say is that it's plausible he ingested tainted meat, given he is Mexican, but by this time all athletes should be aware of the risk and take precautions. It was announced previously that his rematch with GGG was thus cancelled, and Golovkin is fighting someone else. GGG may fare worse as a result of this than Alvarez. He arguably should have been given the decision in their previous fight, but at least by winning this rematch, he could have made amends. Now any possible rematch could not take place until near the end of the year, and at his age, GGG really can't afford delays.

I really don't understand why he's prolonging a career clearly well into decline. He has nothing left to prove in the ring, and has a full-time career as a Senator now. The biggest news, though, is that he and long-time trainer Freddie Roach may be done. Pacquiao said no decision has been made about who his trainer for this fight will be, but the fact that there's even a question about Roach is big news. It doesn't help that Roach claims he was never paid for Manny's last fight.

In other boxing news, Canelo Alvarez was suspended six months for clenbuterol. This is Clinic material, so all I'll say is that it's plausible he ingested tainted meat, given he is Mexican, but by this time all athletes should be aware of the risk and take precautions. It was announced previously that his rematch with GGG was thus cancelled, and Golovkin is fighting someone else. GGG may fare worse as a result of this than Alvarez. He arguably should have been given the decision in their previous fight, but at least by winning this rematch, he could have made amends. Now any possible rematch could not take place until near the end of the year, and at his age, GGG really can't afford delays.

I was Manny's biggest fan. No longer ... for several reasons. You're right, of course, on Manny having nothing left to prove ... having won championships in 8 different weight divisions. Manny should have retired after Mayweather fight. Having decided not to ... he should have fought Crawford, Lomachenko ... or, at least, Khan. By that time ... it was (approaching) no longer about boxing full time. It was about being a real lousy politician full time and not being able to be a great boxer anymore, part time. So ... what is he up to? Manny is now delusional that he can become president. To become president you need money to finance your campaign. With enough money ... one has the chance to pull it off. So .... he's trying to stockpile future campaign money. He may very well not win that next fight. He won't win the presidency. Poor Kid Kulafu ... just stepping into the abyss for a long (stayed too long, reached too high) fall. Shame.